Indiana secretary of state appeals ruling for US Senate candidate seeking GOP nod

abcnews.go.com:

The Indiana secretary of state is appealing a ruling that a law stipulating voting requirements for a candidate’s party affiliation is unconstitutional

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana secretary of state is appealing a ruling that a law stipulating voting requirements for a candidate's party affiliation is unconstitutional in a decision that lifted the hopes of a U.S. Senate hopeful who wants to run as a Republican.

The Indiana attorney general's office filed the notice of appeal Friday with the Indiana Supreme Court on behalf of Secretary of State Diego Morales.

The filing came a day after a Marion County judge granted an injunction sought by John Rust, the former chair of the egg supplier Rose Acre Farms who is running to replace Sen. Mike Braun. Rust filed a lawsuit in September against Morales, the Indiana Election Commission and Jackson County Republican Party Chair Amanda Lowery to challenge the law and ensure the possibility of his place on the ballot.

The law in question says a candidate’s past two primary elections must be cast with the party the candidate is affiliated with or a county party chair must approve the candidacy. In court documents, Rust argued that this statute “should be struck down as being unconstitutionally vague and overly broad."

A phone message seeking comment from Rust was left Friday evening by The Associated Press.

Rust voted as a Republican in the 2016 primary but as a Democrat in 2012. He did not vote in the 2020 Republican primary because of the pandemic and the lack of competitive Republican races in Jackson County, the lawsuit said. Rust said his Democratic votes were for people he personally knew.

Lowery, the county's Republican Party chair, said in a July meeting with Rust that she